Natalie Portman born as Neta-Lee Hershlag was born on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem. She is dual citizenship actress, producer, and film director. She is a talented actress proven by a series of awards including the Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Portman made her film debut as Mathilda, the young protégée of a hitman, in the film Léon: The Professional. While still in high school, she gained international recognition to star in as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. During 4 years since 1999, she studied at Harvard University for a degree in psychology.
She continued acting while at university and starred in the sequel to Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. In 2004, Portman was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for her role playing the mysterious stripper in the movie Closer. After that, she continued to play films in the Starward Epilogue III episode.
She also played as Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie’s biography and the film earned her third Oscar nomination. She also tried to be a director in the Eve short film and biographical drama A Tale of Love and Darkness. In 2008, she served as the youngest member of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival. Portman also a defender of animal rights and the cause of environmental damage.
Natalie Portman the Defenders of Animal Rights
Portman has been an environmental supporter since childhood when she joined an environmental song and dance group known as the World Patrol kids and she is also a member of the One Voice movement. Portman was also an advocate for animal rights and became a vegetarian when she was eight years old, a decision that came after she watched a laser surgery demonstration on chickens while attending a medical conference with her father. She then became a vegan in 2009 after reading Jonathan Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran and then she made a documentary about the agricultural system in the US with the same title.
In 2007, she launched her own vegan shoes. She did this because she had used shoes from targets which were certainly not leather because they were very cheap but she felt Stella McCartney’s shoes were not affordable for everyone so she launched vegan shoes with the brand Té Casan. This shoe brand only lasts a year and the website is no longer found, but if you want to buy it can still be found in several online stores and also on eBay.
Natalie Portman and Global Green USA
In 2007, Portman went to Rwanda with Jack Hanna for a documentary film, Gorillas on the Brink. Then, at the naming ceremony, Portman named the Gukina for gorilla baby, which means “playing. This event is part of the Saving a Species series.
She is also willing to lend her name to other environmental activities. She made a video called “This bulb” with Kyra Sedgwick and Chloe Sevigny to explain how just changing light bulbs can help reverse the effects of greenhouse gases.
In addition, she is actively involved with Global Green USA, a non-profit American Green Cross International affiliate that focuses on encouraging changes in global values towards a sustainable and safe future. Global Green USA advocates and provides smart solutions for global warming including affordable green development for housing, schools, cities, and communities that can save money, improve health and create green jobs.
In September 2017, her work in the film was recognized by the Environmental Media Association Award by giving her the Sustainable Commitment Award. Portman does not eat animal products or wear fur or any animal skin. All of the shoes are from Target and Stella McCartney doesn’t use fur at all in the production process.
She said that she chose to adapt to a sustainable lifestyle after studying the health risks and environmental effects that come with mass production of animals. Natalie Portman said that accepting the award was an honor and a valuable reminder to her that she was not alone in the fight to protect the environment.
